CDW employees hit with layoffs after Q1 2023 warning

CDW Canada, the technology product and services company based in Illinois, is reportedly laying off hundreds of employees on the heels of a preliminary Q1 2023 report. It joins a growing number of tech firms that are laying off tens of thousands of workers in response to slowing demand and sales.

What’s happening: CRN is reporting that multiple CDW employees are sharing their layoffs on sites like LinkedIn and TheLayoff in the wake of the company’s warning about poor first quarter results.

• One CDW employee told CRN that the company has launched a wave of layoffs
• There are reports of 600 to 1,000 employees being let go, with notifications coming through email
• CDW is reportedly examining workers’ billable time to determine who should be fired
• Severance packages are being offered
• Laid off employees are being asked to sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs)

Further explanation: The layoffs are happening in the wake of a warning by the company that its Q1 2023 revenue would drop below expectations.

• CDW expects “intensifying economic uncertainty” to negatively impact the global IT market.
• Its $5.1 billion net sales will miss the analyst estimates of $5.28 billion.

Impact on Canadian staff

CDW’s layoffs may include a number of Canadian employees, however the full impact is currently unclear as the company has not confirmed any cuts.

Major tech layoffs continue

CDW joins the growing list of major North American tech companies that have announced sweeping layoffs in 2023.

Several big names, including Amazon, Meta, Alphabet, Dell, Clearco, Hootsuite, Kyndryl, F5 and Microsoft, have significantly scaled back their staffing levels as they continue to navigate challenging economic conditions.

SEE ALSO
• Severance packages for IBM employees
• Employment lawyer on recent tech layoffs and severance
• Layoffs in Canada

Termination packages for CDW staff

In Canada, non-unionized employees at CDW are owed full severance pay when they lose their jobs due to downsizing or corporate restructuring.

This includes individuals working full-time, part-time, or hourly in Ontario, Alberta, and B.C.

Severance can be as much as 24 months’ pay, depending on a number of factors.

LEARN MORE
• Severance for technology industry employees
• Severance for provincially regulated employees
• Severance packages in mass layoffs

WATCH: Employment lawyer Lior Samfiru explains what rights employees have if they are being fired or let go on an episode of the Employment Law Show.

Before you accept any severance offer, have an experienced employment lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP review it and your employment contract.

We can tell you if what you have been provided is fair and how to get proper severance if it falls short of what you are actually owed.

If you don’t receive the full amount, which happens often, you have been wrongfully dismissed and are entitled to compensation.

Employers sometimes use pressure tactics to try to coerce employees into accepting poor severance packages, such as imposing a deadline for accepting the offer.

However, in Canada, terminated employees have up to two years from the date of their dismissal to pursue a claim for full severance pay.